Nothing better than history in motion! To celebrate its 50th anniversary, BMW M invited us to Le Mans Classic 2022. We tell you everything in video!
In 2022, BMW M celebrates 50 years ! The sports division of the Munich manufacturer puts its story in motion in several events throughout the year. But it’s at Le Mans Classic that we decided to make an appointment with the brand.
And a whole program awaits us, from discovering the brand’s first models to a lap of the grand circuit of Le Mans, passing by the test of one of the latest creations of M, the BMW M240i Coupe. Discover it all in our video report :
At the wheel of the BMW M240i xDrive: a real “M”?
Departure therefore from the Paris region in BMW M’s latest sports coupe. But is the M240i a “real M”? After the kilometers swallowed throughout the weekend, we are tempted to answer yes. Firstly, through its performance: with 374 hp for 500 Nm of torque, it does 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.3s. It’s just as good as the previous generation BMW M2!
It must be said that BMW has seen big for what is currently the most efficient version of the small coupe in the range. The M240i indeed receives a good part of the technique of the big sister M440i. Hence surprising proportions for a small coupé, and, logically, increased weight. Here it reaches almost 1,800 kg fully fueled. This is also inflation…
But behind the wheel, the extra pounds are quickly forgotten. The steering is precise even if it not full of information. Above all, this M240i knows how to be very playful when necessary. Even with the xDrive all-wheel drive of our test model, the limits of the rear axle can be reached without ending up in prison. An increasingly rare pleasure.
Just like the 6-cylinder in-line besides, overflowing with health. Its sound, certainly “boosted” in Sport mode by the speakers, remains metallic as desired, and frankly unique at this level of the market. In front, the 5 cylinder of an Audi RS3 is certainly more exotic but less melodious.
Le Mans Classic, the return!
In short, an appetizer that whets the appetite on the way to Le Mans Classic. The event, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is making a comeback after the cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid.
Divided into 6 grids (plus other “satellite” races), the models that have marked the 99-year history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans compete on the big track, open for the occasion. A rare spectacle, which smells of gasoline and which fills the ears with rumblings in the process of disappearing…
The opportunity therefore to return to the history of BMW M. And if the manufacturer is not necessarily the one that we most associate with the 24 Hours (we should rather look towards Stuttgart), we still find the models the most important in the history of the brand at Le Mans Classic.
Starting with the BMW 328, which won its category in 1939. Three models are registered in grid 1, which brings together pre-war cars. We also find the very first model developed by M: the BMW 3.0 CSL. Finally, the different BMW M1 and their strident six-cylinders know how to attract the favors of the public.
The different clubs at the rendezvous
And to get an even more complete idea of the long history of BMW M, you have to turn to the spaces dedicated to the different clubs. Many of them revolved around the BMW galaxy, with iconic models from the history of M.
Starting with some of the very first copies touched by the preparer, the M535i and M635 CSi. We will have to wait much later to see the first M5 and then M3 appear… Which, somewhere, gives some credibility to our “simple” M240i of the day!
In short, a great adventure in the footsteps of a letter that retains a unique place in the automotive landscape. All wrapped up in style by a passenger lap of the 24 Hours circuitaboard a BMW M3!
The circle is complete, all that remains is to get behind the wheel of our M240i, which takes on a somewhat special flavor for the occasion. In waiting for the M2…
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